The China stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting almost 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,270-point plateau although it's expected to run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests major consolidation due to surging coronavirus cases around the world. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the resource stocks were tempered by weakness from the financial shares and property stocks.
For the day, the index gathered 14.92 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 3,269.24 after trading between 3,238.38 and 3,275.87. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 15.19 points or 0.68 percent to end at 2,239.11.
Among the actives, Jiangxi Copper soared 4.45 percent, while Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) advanced 0.68 percent, Yanzhou Coal Mining slipped 0.95 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.60 percent, Bank of China sank 0.62 percent, China Construction Bank tumbled 1.56 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.87 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.06 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.84 percent, PetroChina slid 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 0.78 percent, Huaneng Power was down 1.57 percent, Gemdale skidded 1.24 percent, Poly Developments plunged 2.06 percent, China Vanke plummeted 2.00 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as stocks opened deep in the red on Wednesday and were hammered throughout the day, finishing sharply lower.
The Dow plummeted 943.24 points or 3.43 percent to finish at 26,519.95, while the NASDAQ plunged 426.48 points or 3.73 percent to end at 11,004.87 and the S&P 500 tumbled 119.65 points or 3.53 percent to close at 3,271.03.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid continued concerns about a recent spike in coronavirus cases across the U.S. - which has averaged more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week. Twenty-nine states have set new records this month for the most new daily cases since the pandemic began in February.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the pandemic in recent days, accusing the media of focusing too much on the disease ahead of next week's elections.
Lingering uncertainty about a new stimulus bill also weighed on Wall Street, with some analysts suggesting a victory by Joe Biden could make Republicans less likely to approve a new relief package until next year.
Crude oil futures ended sharply lower Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a notable increase in crude inventories, and worries about energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate oil futures for December ended down $2.18 or 5.5 percent at $37.39 a barrel.
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